Midnight Moxie at an Empty Carnival

As the participants in the 24 Hour Maine Summer Adventure Race arrived at CP49 they were issued a challenge: Drink this can of Moxie soda before moving on. What’s Moxie Soda? A uniquely Maine invention, Moxie is one of the first commercial produced soda beverages in the US. Made with gentian root and possessing a flavor that many describe as “unique,” Moxie is said to taste like something between root beer, Dr. Pepper, cream soda, and cola. For those of legal drinking age, I’d have to describe it as non-alcoholic, carbonated Jagermeister. With 140 calories, 37g of carbs, 65 mg of sodium and 39g of caffeine, Moxie is lowkey great adventure race fuel, especially for the native Mainers competing here who are familiar with the flavor.

CP 49 is located at a carnival in Lisbon Falls, Maine. The first teams arrived while the event was still in full swing. Exhausted adventure athletes zipped in, chugged soda and jumped right back on their bikes to the bemusement of onlookers and carnival staff. Since the race had spread out quite a bit by this time, the flow of teams into CP49 drew to a trickle. The carnival packed up and shut off their lights for the night around 10pm and the parking lot emptied. The bar across the street that was hosting a live cover band had now become silent and soon enough the only sounds were crickets and the buzz of a few street lamps. The last teams didn’t arrive until around 1am, but each had the same challenge ahead of them.

From my estimates, Moxie was well received by most of the field. You can’t please everyone with a distinctively tasting beverage, but these racers all appreciated the cold beverage and extra kick of energy late at night.